Redemption
by Spikesnewgirl
Summary: This is an alternate season five of Angel. What if Buffy had gone to LA after saving the world? I've been in America on holiday for the last couple of weeks, but the next chapter will be posted shortly!
1. Default Chapter

Title: Redemption  
Author: Racheal Owens   
Rating: 13 - 15  
Summary: Post Buffy Season 7 and before Angel Season 5. B/A with a little Spike thrown in.

Spoilers: End of Buffy Season 7 and Angel Season 4  
Disclaimer: All characters and settings taken fom either 'Buffy' or 'Angel' are Joss Whedon's creation. They belong to him, not me. 

Angel turned a corner into one of the alleys near his new apartment; Los Angeles hadn't been so quiet in the last few months, and now all was silent, at least for the time being, leaving Angel alone with his thoughts. Although it was a relief not to have to worry about some immediate danger or apocalypse, Angel was far from calm. Not only had he given Conner a new life without him in it, accepted a deal from Lilah and the all evil Law Firm Wolfram and Hart, he hadn't heard from Buffy. The world hadn't ended as far as he could tell, due to the fact that Los Angeles was still standing, but he couldn't say the same for Sunnydale. Buffy might have stopped the Hellmouth from opening and the world from ending, but that didn't necessarily ensure her safety. The last time Buffy had been in a fight to the death, she had done it; saved the world. But at a cost: her own life.

Angel shook his head and with it all thoughts of Buffy's death left his mind, last time, yes he had coped, but he'd got her back…and he wasn't prepared to lose her again. Especially not now there was some hope that they'd be reunited.

Before Angel carried on walking he paused, albeit for a moment, sensing that something wasn't right.

He could've sworn that he'd heard something, but the noise had disappeared as quickly as he had first heard it. Frustrated he sighed; at least a bit of action might take his mind off things. There it was again, Angel followed the sounds, which, as he got nearer, he realised were the sounds of a struggle.

In a rush now, Angel reached the scene of commotion just in time to see a vampire become a cloud of grey dust, and as the cloud began to clear, Angel recognised the face behind it: it was the face of the woman he loved.

"Buffy." Angel breathed a sigh of relief.

"Angel…I…uh…world didn't end." She smiled a little shyly.

Angel couldn't help but let a smile creep onto his lips, "So I see… and you decided to celebrate by slaying more vampires?" he asked amused.

"Actually I was planning a long break from…slaying."

"Aha…" 

"Okay," she began, looking a little sheepishly at the stake she still held in her hand, "I'll give you that it doesn't look too convincing now, but that was the original plan." She sighed, looking down at her now ruined clothes. "So…got somewhere I can change?"

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"It's nice…" Buffy began, shifting her weight a little nervously from one foot to the next, feeling more than a bit uncomfortable in Angel's home.

"Yeah," Angel replied while turning the lights on in the living room of the apartment, "I er got it from a…well an evil dead lawyer actually…it's kinda complicated…"

"Okay," Buffy nodded, "and from your face I'm guessing that this is one of those things where you really don't want too many questions, so, I'll just not." Upon seeing Angel's apologetic look Buffy quickly broke eye contact, choosing to take another look at the curtains; their sea of black material suddenly becoming very inviting. 

"I'm sorry."

"No, Angel. Look, we haven't lived in each other's lives for a long time now."

"Right," he replied, his voice becoming a little older, but only for a second. "So…the bathroom…is that way, second door on your left." He continued, looking her up and down noticing the dirt and blood marring her skin and clothes, and the weariness hidden deep in her eyes.

"Erm…I …er, have a slight problem in that I have no clothes to change into…"

"Here let me get you something," Angel said disappearing into a room, which Buffy presumed was his Bedroom, he emerged carrying a black shirt. "You can just wear this for now, I can get you some clothes tomorrow." Then off her look he added, " I won't ask now, I'll get us some coffee and then we can talk."

"Angel? Thank you." She said taking the clothes before walking into the bathroom and closing the door.

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Buffy stepped into the living room to see Angel carrying over two steaming cups of coffee. "Please," he said handing her a black mug while motioning to his leather suite, "make yourself at home."

As Buffy sat down she suddenly winced and clutched her stomach. Concerned Angel put his coffee down and sat next to her, gently moving her hand away to reveal blood. "What have you done?"

"Oh, ... um... I was sort of...stabbed."

"God Buffy, why the hell didn't you say anything?" He said getting up.

"It was fine, I must have just knocked it in the shower or something."


	2. Chapter 1

Angel looked at her, incredulous. "Right, I'm gonna go and get something to clear that up for you."  
  
He walked towards the bathroom, shaking his head slightly.  
  
Buffy had shifted somewhat when he returned; her head lay resting against the top of the suite, masses of blonde hair standing out against the black leather. For a second Angel just stood still staring at her, before reality got the better of him.  
  
"Try not to move too much. You'll aggravate the wound."  
  
Breaking eye contact, Buffy cleared her throat, the intensity of his gaze making her feel vulnerable and exposed. She moved her hand and started to undo the shirt she was wearing, but was stopped by Angel, who took her hand and slowly moved it away;  
  
"Let me." His voice was low. Buffy closed her eyes, desperately trying not to focus on how near he was, how gentle his touch was as he unbuttoned her shirt, his fingers, feather light, examining the area around her injury.  
  
With excruciating care Angel began to dress the wound, his fingers trembling slightly. When he finished he let his hand linger for a moment, before bringing it up to rest on her shoulder. Buffy looked into his eyes, darker than they had been a few minutes ago, and whispered his name, giving him the permission he was silently asking for. Her eyes closed and all rational thought dissolved as Angel's lips softly met hers.  
  
After what could have been a second or an eternity, Angel pulled away; it was too soon and they both knew it. With some effort Angel removed himself from her embrace and chose to sit in the much safer one piece just to the left of the sofa. Buffy gave him a small appreciative smile, before tentatively touching her now bandaged stomach and steadying herself.  
  
"So do you wanna tell me how you got that stab wound?"  
  
Buffy reached for her coffee and absently ran her fingers around the rim and over the handle as she began to retell Sunnydale's final battle. Angel said very little while Buffy was talking, choosing instead to let her speak freely; he'd missed her.  
  
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Buffy stood in front of Spike, staring at him, still holding her scythe.  
  
"No, you've done enough. You could still-"  
  
"No, you've beat them back. It's for me to do the cleanup. Gotta move, lamb. I think it's fair to say school's out for bloody summer."  
  
"Spike!" Buffy shouted; the worry in her voice growing.  
  
"I mean it! I gotta do this."  
  
Spike held out his hand to stop her. Swallowing her tears Buffy laced her fingers through his and closed her eyes.  
  
"It wasn't meant for me." A voice whispered in Buffy's ear, the warm breath tickling the back of her neck. Startled she opened her eyes, and froze as she saw that it was Angel in front of her bursting into flames.  
  
"Angel?" Powerless Buffy watched as Angel slowly, agonisingly turned to dust; the last thing she saw, his sad smile. Numb, she looked at her hand which had been holding his just seconds before; it was still burning.  
  
Buffy woke up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. She glanced at the clock on her left: 4:30, still feeling a little uneasy from the dream she crept out of the room to get a glass of water.  
  
As she turned on the tap Buffy felt a hand on her shoulder, she flinched and pulled away.  
  
Angel looked at her concerned. "Is everything okay?"  
  
"Oh…erm yeah. I just couldn't sleep. Decided to get a drink." she said holding up her glass.  
  
He nodded, he'd checked in on Buffy and heard her calling out in her sleep but decided not to press it.  
  
"You look cold." he said as he noticed her shiver a little. "Let me put the fire on for a few minutes. Get you warmed up."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Buffy followed Angel into the sitting area where they had been the night before and watched him light the fire. For a moment neither of them knew quite what to do, sensing Buffy's hesitation Angel sat on the floor leaning against the sofa, silently motioning her to do the same. Feeling more comfortable she sat in his lap and subconsciously rested her head against his chest, he smiled lightly and placed his hands over hers.  
  
"Angel?" she whispered closing her eyes.  
  
"Hmmm?"  
  
"I've missed you."  
  
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When Buffy awoke for the second time that morning, she was surprised to find herself on the sofa wrapped in a blanket. She sat up yawning; she noticed that the fire had been turned off. On the table in front of her was a neatly folded pile of clothes. She picked them up; holding them out for inspection.  
  
"Are they okay?"  
  
"Oh. Angel hey." she said looking up at him, "Yeah…they're…where did you get them?"  
  
"Actually they're Cordelia's." He looked down.  
  
"Oh." She looked away from him.  
  
"We had to move her stuff out of her apartment, I said I'd keep some of it. "  
  
"Where's she staying?"  
  
"The hospital. She's in a coma." He finished quietly.  
  
Buffy quickly looked back up at him "I'm sorry…I didn't realise."  
  
"I guess I'll go and …" Said Buffy motioning to the bathroom, her voice breaking the heavy silence that had followed her last sentence.  
  
"Buffy?"  
  
She turned to face him.  
  
"Do you maybe wanna go and get a cup of coffee, some breakfast when you're ready? I don't really have that much here."  
  
Buffy smiled. "I'd love too."  
  
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A/N: Thank you to everyone who gave some feedback and I'm sorry it took me so long to write this next chapter (I'm still a bit unhappy with it in places. Sigh.) 


	3. Chapter 2

The little café was busy - not unusual for a Monday morning - most customers would hurry in grab a coffee to go, and just as quickly rejoin the frantic rush of people that kept the city going. Buffy and Angel, however, sat almost alone in the sitting area at the back of the café, not in any particular hurry, something Buffy was extremely thankful for after the last six months of hell that had been life in Sunnydale. She shifted a little on the plush leather seat, and sipped idly at her hot chocolate, all the while staring intently at Angel.

"What's up?" He asked, putting his cup down on the table in front of him.

Caught off guard for a second she shrugged absently in response. "Nothing."

He frowned at her. "No, you definitely have a 'something' face."

"Hey - isn't that my line?"

The two shared a smile before Angel looked at her expectantly. Not feeling brave enough to share what she'd been thinking, Buffy broke eye contact and stole a mouthful of Angel's coffee. Upon swallowing it she pulled a face.

"Isn't it a bit early for black coffee?"

"And its not too early to be eating that?" Angel teased referring to the nearly devoured donut sitting in front of Buffy.

"Mmmmm." She mumbled, finishing the remains and licking the sugar from her fingers, "Its never too early for sugar."

Despite the innocence in her actions something stirred within Angel, a reaction which didn't go unnoticed by Buffy who quickly pushed her plate to one side.

"So… shouldn't you be at work playing the hot shot lawyer or something by now? Leaving me to recreate my wardrobe?"

"Good thing about being the boss ," he grinned lopsidedly, "Can't get fired for deciding to take the morning off."

The shop was getting busier now, and a harassed waitress came and put the bill on their table before moving on without so much as a glance at either of them.

"Friendly." Buffy observed, while Angel placed two notes in the little black wallet, before sliding a credit card across to Buffy.

"Angel." She started sliding it back to him, "You know I can't accept this. I have money - accounts set up by Giles, and, behold the miracle, my father."

Angel smiled at her; he'd expected this reaction. "What about Dawn - her education, her future? This way you can save that money for her." Seeing her hesitation still, he opened her hand, placed the card in her palm and closed her fingers around it, before wrapping his own hand in hers.

"Buffy." He said in all seriousness. "This isn't charity money, or me expecting anything in return. Its me helping a friend - the least I can do after all you've done for me."

Buffy's features tightened a little hearing Angel refer to her as a 'friend', but then again, what had she really expected a few days after turning up on his doorstep? Angel seemed to misinterpret this for awkwardness over accepting the money, or at least pretended to; Buffy couldn't tell.

"Go out - get whatever you need."

Buffy opened her mouth to protest, but Angel stopped her before she had the chance to start.

"I mean it." He added firmly.

There was a moment of silence between them, which Angel took upon himself to break by saying;

"I could come with you if you want? Take the day off?"

Buffy gave a small smile. "I'm touched. Really. But I'll be fine. I know how much you enjoy shopping."

Angel gave a mock sigh of relief, "I was getting worried for a second there."

"Hey" she feigned insult. "My shopping trips are not that bad. You should try shopping with Cordelia." Buffy stopped herself quickly realizing her mistake.

Angel looked pained for a moment before saying "I'll get a car to come pick you up, drop you at the mall…"

"I can walk," she interrupted carefully only half amused at his protectiveness, " You know, I used to live in L.A."

"I know." he answered simply. "The guy'll wait for you and take you back to my apartment when you're done. Here." he said, handing her a key.

The next five minutes were spent in companionable silence, while Buffy and Angel waited for the car he had called two minutes before. Some time later - Buffy couldn't tell how long - Angel lead her outside where her driver was waiting.

"I'll see you later." He said softly, squeezing her hand.

Buffy nodded before climbing into the black Mercedes. As they pulled away she turned and watched from the back window as Angel slowly faded from view.

"Oh boy." She whispered banging her head slightly on the seat behind her - "What am I doing?"

Some hours later Buffy stood under the bright lights of Barney's shoe department inspecting her appearance in the full length mirror before her - namely the delicate pair of clementine sandals she now wore on her feet - her black boots tucked under the chair behind her.

"They look so cute on you." The shop girl next to Buffy enthused. "They'd go perfectly with that white and orange tank top." she continued, motioning to the vast pile of clothes on a chair to Buffy's right. "Or, you know if you wanted to dress them up we've got a great selection of Summer dresses on the third floor. Just in Thursday."

"Maybe." Buffy replied, turning to see the shoes from a slightly different angle. She jumped slightly as she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket; she'd forgotten she'd put it there. "Sorry." She smiled apologetically to the girl as she took out her phone.

"Hello?"

"Buffy." A warm English voice greeted her.

"Giles, hi. How are you?"

"Very well thank you, and yourself?"

"I'm good. Could you err…hold on a minute?" Buffy turned her attention back to the shop assistant. "I'll take the shoes - if you could put them aside with the rest of the clothes for me. I'll go and have a look at the summer dresses as soon as I've finished this call." The girl nodded politely, and began to haul Buffy's array of clothes and shoes to the nearest counter.

"Giles?"

"Still here. You're shopping?"

She chuckled, hearing the exasperation in his voice. "Yeah. I figured I'd need a bit of stuff being as most of my clothes caved in with the town I used to live in."

"You managed to find Angel I take it?" Though Giles attempted to make his tone casual he didn't quite pull it off.

" Yeah…"

"And you're staying…?"

"In his apartment."

"I'm assuming then, that its Angel funding the shopping trip?"

Though Giles' tone was far from accusatory, Buffy felt awkward and blushed in spite of herself.

"He insisted." She replied limply.

"I see. So how long were you planning on staying…with Angel?"

"I don't know." she answered honestly before looking around and quickly saying "I know that you really want to try and get things going again Giles, the reformation of the Council and everything. But I need some time, some 'Buffy' time, away from slaying, even if its just for a couple of weeks. And okay, I realise that staying with Angel isn't what you'd typically call getting away from slaying but… I need this Giles."

"I understand that you need a break Buffy. But in the long term there are other things you're going to have to consider, especially in terms of Dawn and what will be best for her." Giles replied patiently.

" Look. Let me have a couple of weeks, sort things out with Angel and decide what to do from there."

If Giles replied Buffy didn't hear him, something across the store had caught her attention.

"Buffy? Buffy? Is everything ok?"

"What? Oh erm…Giles right. Yeah." Buffy, slightly unsettled took a minute to remember what she'd been saying as she forced her attention back to the phone call. "Everything's fine. I'll…erm…I'll speak to you later. I've got to go."

Buffy put her phone back in her pocket and looked over again, she was sure she'd seen him there just a minute ago. Anxiously she looked around the rest of the floor - he was nowhere to be seen.

"_It was nothing."_ She reassured herself, but as she remembered the dreams that had been haunting her the last couple of nights doubt started to creep back into her mind. _"It was nothing. Just the last couple of months taking their toll." _She firmly told herself, but still glanced cautiously round one more time before making her way to the counter where the shop assistant was waiting.

**A/N:** I'm really sorry that this hasn't been updated in such a horribly long period of time. I've had a terrible year and not had the time or energy to do much with my writing. Hopefully all will be back to normal, and if there is still interest I will continue writing and posting this story as planned. A big thank you to all the people who have reviewed, and in answer to a couple of questions - there will be little overlap with what happens in season 5 of Angel - it ends up completely AU. I'm not overly pleased with this chapter - I feel kinda rusty I guess so if anyone has any suggestions or amendments please feel free - I can handle criticism (as long as its not harsh).


End file.
